My husband, Jerry, and I
(not to mention Bonnie) were born well before the “information age”. The first
computer I ever saw in person was one of those large monitors about the size of
those small TVs, the kind with the tubes, and therefore a fairly good-sized box.
It also had another box that held the computer processing components. Finally
the keyboard. Of course, everything was attached with wires, cords, and such.
It took up the whole desk.
“War Games” starring
Matthew Broderick came out a year or two later. This was our first introduction
to the possibility of one computer “talking” to another one over the phone
lines.
I got my first computer
over a decade later and it needed a separate “modem” to get on the internet. I
only wanted it to write, so I didn’t care. However, when I finally went out and
bought my own, it was internet-capable, though it was still dial-up.
I could also go into the
changes in phones.
Sometime in the
mid-1960s, with the advent of shows like “Get Smart”, they started showing
spies and wealthy people having phones that weren’t attached to the wall in
their homes. The wealthy people had phones attached inside their cars. Spies (i.e.:
Get Smart) had phones hidden in things like their shoes. But it was in the
mid-to early ’80s before any useable cellphones were produced and they were huge
and not cheap.
I got my first cell phone
after I got my first internet-capable computer.
The picture I’m painting
is, we were adults before we had to learn how to use computers or cellphones.
I’ve been able to access
the internet for 22 years. I know this because I got it with my income tax
return when I was pregnant with my oldest son, who is now 21.
My point is, both of my
boys have grown up in a household with the internet, computers, and cellphones.
I have not.
Over the last 30 years or
so I have gradually learned how to use all this. I now own a laptop, tablet,
kindle, and cellphone, all web capable.
My youngest son, Royce,
who is the most tech-savvy of all of us, has noticed I don’t need much help
using tech. I can usually figure how to navigate, programs, apps, and websites
on my own. I believe Bonnie does about that well with her tech.
Jerry on the other hand
cannot go more than a day without asking Royce to show him yet again how to do
some task or get to some website or fix yet another problem for the umpteenth
time.
When he needs help, Royce
patiently spends hours, telling him again and again, how to do, or fix,
whatever the problem is this time. I’ve personally listened to these long
sessions knowing Jerry won’t remember it in another hour if he even retains it
that long.
Yes, Royce has helped me
with things on my tech that I will never remember how to do. Something messes
up on my tech. Royce comes in and clicks buttons, moves through screens, and
eventually figures out the solution. Then I never have the same problem again
so I forget what he did. When it is something I’ll need to use again, he
doesn’t have to show me twice. I remember it, but those things are rare
occurrences.
Examples: In the last few
weeks Jerry has asked for Royce’s help to either get into his accounts or
organize his files. Royce will patiently show him what to do and how to do it
and the next day Jerry is asking him how to do the same thing again. This is
pretty much daily.
On the other hand, I
don’t remember the last time I had to have any tech help from Royce.
Then recently I mentioned
to Jerry, with Royce in the room, that I needed to do something which would require
me to leave the house, i.e.: run an errand.
Royce asked why I didn’t
do it with my tech.
I didn’t know how.
With his help, fifteen
minutes later I’d taken care of the matter, and I’ll remember it should I need
to do it again.
Jerry blames his inability
to understand tech on his age. I’m the same age he is.
How many Baby Boomers do
you know who can navigate today’s tech? How many do you know like Jerry who
finds it difficult to grasp? How many Millennials or Centennials do you know
who haven’t grown up using all things tech?
It reminds me of our
parents trying to understand/use those newfangled devices of their era. Things
like VCRs, microwaves, and digital clocks. If it needed “programed” the kids
had to do it because the parents just couldn’t figure it out.
Smile. Make the day a
brighter day.
